Close and Involved

Get close and involved. Oh I do love this.  Well before I get carried away with being so confident, I have to say perhaps I don't get as close as I thought.  My preferred lens for street work is my 24-105, now for this exercise I had to keep it at the widest angle.  Off I went taking pictures in a way I feel confident, however when I got back and looked at them all, I realised I had been unconsciously moving the zoom.  Not a single shot was at the full width. As I don't have a wide angle prime lens, I needed to figure out how to not slip into using the zoom. 
First I went out without a camera and watched and observed people and situations. You see so many pictures when you don't have a camera.  This I am coming to realise is a good thing.  When a camera is in my hands I'm taking pictures and not observing enough. Hence the note to myself, slow down. Next I taped my lens so I couldn't change the zoom.
I found if you have been watching people for sometime you can anticipate what is likely to happen. this group of pictures has more of that planning in them. Also I am more comfortable with this lens than the longer lens I used in the previous exercise.

Oxford Street is always a good place to start for street photography.
I spotted the guy with the cute teddy bear bag, clearly he had been left holding belongings while the owner was elsewhere. Initially I thought a picture of strong male, fluffy bag, was the picture.  Then the older woman with the heavy big bag appeared. Luck was on my side when the second male stepped into my frame with boots that look like a nuclear warning next to a sign offering benefits galore. All that happened in less than 30 seconds.

The beauty of living in London is there is always somewhere you can rely on finding something quirky.  Piccadilly Circus is a sure bet. Around here you can get close to people as there are so many tourists with cameras people don't notice another one.

I've found street photography has a rhythm, when it goes well you can get really good pictures. Other days, well best to pack up, go home and read a book. On the good days I can attempt to apply some of the skills I have acquired through my study.

I liked this picture as I felt I had managed to get some of the elements of design. Straight lines in the pillars the diagonals of the two people and the white shoe on the left leading towards the white line.

The next picture I anticipated. I saw the two woman walking down the road with their yellow bags.  I'd just passed the yellow lines on the road. So I raced back to the lines worked out where they were likely to walk and where I'd like to capture them. Then crossed my fingers and toes that no-one would walk in front of them at the perfect moment.  What I had anticipated worked.

However looking at it now it would have been even better if I had stepped slightly to the left and not have had all the distractions on the right hand side of the frame. A crop (below) shows how this improves the picture.

What did I learn from this?  In street photography where everything happens so quickly you still have to plan and remember all aspects of what makes a good photograph. A extra note to myself is remember the edges of the frame.